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GDC expands its reach in Latin America

November 13, 2013

Hong Kong-based digital cinema solutions provider GDC has signed a deal with Mexican exhibitor Cinemex to equip 1,500 screens with GDC servers along with integrated media blocks (IMBs) across the country. Barco will complete its projector installation for Cinemex across 1,800 screens by December 2013.

A week before the Cinemex deal, GDC also signed two digital rollout deals in Latin America. One is with Colombian exhibitor Cinemas Procinal for 66 screens across 16 sites; another is Peruvian exhibitor Cinestar Multicines for 73 screens across 16 sites. Both exhibitors have selected GDC SX-3000 Standalone IMB with Portable Storage for their digital conversion. American digital cinema service provider CE+S will be the integrator, providing support services for the digital rollout. NEC Colombia, a wholly-owned NEC subsidiary, is the system integrator for the Cinemas Procinal deal and will provide NEC DLP Cinema projectors for the deployment.

The cinema server market in the Latin America region is dominated by Doremi with a 74.1 per cent market share as at Q3 2013. GDC currently has a market share of 11.3 per cent, slightly below Dolby's 11.9 per cent. The three recent deals in the region, with a total of 1,639 screens, will help GDC to push up its market share in this region.

GDC has also entered the VPF market in Latin America. GDC Digital Cinema Network, a subsidiary of GDC Technology, signed separate non-exclusive digital cinema deployment agreements with major Hollywood studios a few months ago, to deploy DCI-compliant digital cinema equipment to cinemas in Latin America via a VPF programme. The Asian company will compete with Arts Alliance Media (AAM) who already has a strong presence in the region, offering exhibitors a choice and serving to drive the wider digital cinema deployment in Latin America.